


Weird Little Greasepit - Sophomore Year - June

by appending_fic



Series: Weird Little Greasepit - Sophomore Year [10]
Category: Buddy Thunderstruck (Cartoon), Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Magic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Post-Break Up, Sacrifice, Town with a dark secret, Virgin Sacrifice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-27 20:43:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16226984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/appending_fic/pseuds/appending_fic
Summary: Darnell is miserable. Buddy just wants to make him feel better, but hurting and confused, Darnell might not let that happen. Principal Moneybags ends the semester with a bang.





	Weird Little Greasepit - Sophomore Year - June

Two hours until the end of Darnell's shift at Ziel's, Buddy stormed in, went around the counter, and pulled Darnell into a fierce hug. Darnell shrugged out of the embrace as soon as feasible, and pushed Buddy firmly back around to the customer side of the counter. When Darnell looked up, Buddy was watching him, ears drooped, eyes watery.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was worried about you," Buddy said. "Every time I go over to your house, you're busy, you are basically a ghost at school-"

"I'm busy. We have a little thing called 'finals', you know."

"Darnell-"

"Now are you going to buy anything? Because I'm not supposed to let people loiter."

"Come on, Darnell," Buddy said, "It's _me_. Your best bud in the entire world. I know you're sad about Gregg, but-"

"I'm _fine_ ," Darnell snapped, cutting Buddy off. "We broke up, like I said. And now I have work. I'll see you at school, okay?"

"O...okay. See you around."

It was quiet after Buddy left; except that Leeroy had hired him explicitly so he never had to talk to customers, Darnell would have wondered why he was here with the place so dead. Darnell sat on his stool and let his head drop onto the counter with a sigh. He'd forgotten how lonely this sort of quiet was - not just being alone, but having no one to not be alone with. He'd gotten used to the background chatter of a host of people - if not Gregg sharing whatever was on his mind, some combination of him, Mae, and Casey arguing in the background, Buddy, of course, and any assorted hangers-on there.

There was, he supposed, an argument to be made that he could have Buddy there if he wanted, but…

Well, for how long?

Darnell had done his _best_ with Gregg, and that hadn't been enough. Obviously he wasn't dating Buddy, but he didn't understand what he'd done wrong with Gregg, and that meant there were pitfalls to friendship he still didn't understand.

So he finished work, went home to study (studiously avoiding The Book), because they had two more days of finals left, and went to sleep.

And he slept, instead of staring at the ceiling all night, an accomplishment, given how his last month had gone.

His peers had gotten the message that Darnell was still Not Talking to anyone, so when Mr. scampered up to him during lunch, it startled him out of his daze. Mr. was panting, wild-eyed, gripping at the edge of the table.

"Wh-"

"Buddy and Gregg got into a fight!" Mr. gasped.

"Oh, lord," Darnell growled. He shoved himself away from the table and turned to Mr. "Where are they?"

"The principal's office."

Darnell stalked toward the office, cheeks burning at the attention caused by Mr.'s outburst. The _last_ thing he needed right now was people gossiping about him, but Buddy and Gregg had made _that_ an absurd pipe dream. But he could at least contain the damage by shouting some sense into them.

He found the two of them standing on opposite sides of the door to Principal Moneybags' office. Buddy's arms were crossed over his chest, and Gregg was glowering at the floor, hands shoved into his pockets.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" Darnell snapped. Buddy and Gregg looked up in an almost coordinated jerk of their heads, Buddy flushing, ears falling back. Gregg, though, bared his teeth and folded his arms over his chest.

"What's wrong with _me_?" Gregg demanded. "I didn't-"

"It's my fault, Darnell." If Buddy's tail were long enough, Darnell was certain it would be tucked between his legs. "I went to ask Gregg what happened with you two, and he was all evasive-"

"Because I don't want to _talk_ about it," Gregg snarled. "Just because I - it doesn't mean I want to _rehash every little detail_!"

"And you've been so upset, so I - well, I kind of hit him."

And in fact, now that Darnell had a moment, he could see the bruise forming around Gregg's eye. Buddy, though, looked unharmed. Darnell turned to Gregg, feeling a little out of his depth. "You didn't - Mr. said you two got into a fight."

"Yeah well, Mr. should get all the facts. I wasn't gonna hit Buddy over _you_ , Dar. I wouldn't do that to you."

Darnell flinched at the nickname, but Gregg didn't lie as a rule, and Buddy didn't protest. Gregg jerked his head down the hall. "Can I go? I really don't want to hang around for this fight."

Darnell huffed; as much as he wanted Gregg to stay, he didn’t have the right to ask. “Go ahead.”

Gregg all but darted away, eager to avoid the fallout of this fight, which was astute of him. Darnell turned to Buddy, anger giving way to exhaustion.

“Darnell-“

“I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

“You haven’t wanted to talk to me for a month!”

“Because all you want to talk about is what happened between me and Gregg!”

Darnell stormed off before Buddy could respond, anger, frustration, and loneliness mingling in a chaotic mix of emotion. He successfully avoided everyone else for the rest of the day, taking his entire bus ride home to sulk.

The last day of school was quieter, no fights, no arguments, and no Buddy trying to talk to Darnell. For being what he wanted, it was lonely. Miserable. Like Darnell.

But he’d shouted at Buddy, been dumped by Gregg, so had no one to blame but himself.

A month ago, he’d been looking forward to summer; Buddy had plans, and his enthusiasm was infectious. Now, it wouldn’t be much different from other summers, with the exception of his job.

A job he’d been saving money from to build - _rebuild_ \- a battered truck Leeroy had said he could buy from him. Something he cared about a lot less now that there wasn’t anyone who cared whether or not they were driving in Darnell’s dad’s station wagon.

At around seven that night, Darnell’s phone rang, startling him out of his reflections. It was Muncie, which was the only reason Darnell answered. She wouldn’t ask how Darnell felt, not unless he asked for help.

“Darnell, you tell my cousin to get his fool ass back home this instant. Auntie Uncle’s in a state.”

“What?”

“Buddy,” Muncie said firmly. “I know you’ve been down, but he’s an hour late for dinner and we can’t reach his phone even though he said he’d call after detention - who gets detention last day of school, anyway?”

“He’s - we had a fight - I don’t know where he is.” A spark of anxiety clenched at Darnell’s chest; being resigned to being abandoned by Buddy didn’t mean Darnell had stopped caring, and there was a long-buried worry rousing in his memory.

Muncie gave an explosive sigh. “Then he’s off moping somewhere.” She paused. “Look, I don’t know what he said, but...Buddy cares a lot about you, Darnell. You’re the best friend he’s ever had, so...well, he cares about you.”

“Thanks, I. Can you tell me? When you find him? So I know he’s okay?”

“Sure, Darnell,” Muncie said, voice uncharacteristically gentle.

“Thanks.”

The moment Muncie hung up, Darnell hopped from his bed and all but sprinted downstairs.

Detention meant Buddy had been alone in the school with Principal Moneybags. And Principal Moneybags was up to _something_ , which given Moneybags’ disdain for Buddy, could mean any number of terrible things were happening to Buddy _this second_.

The front doors were locked, forcing Darnell to scramble awkwardly up to the second floor, and after a pause at the bottom of the stairs, bolt toward the boiler rooms.

If anything was happening, it was where Moneybags had met with the watchful presence the last time Darnell had broken into the school.

He didn’t bother with stealth or caution, but when he burst into the room, it was clear he’d caught Moneybags by surprise, because he looked up from a glass plate with an aborted, “What are you-“

Darnell took exactly one second to scan the room, the boiler standing tall at the far end of the room, the twisted mass of lines forming an eye-watering pattern on the floor, the jar rattling ominously at one side, and Buddy tied to a chair on the other. His eyes widened in surprise, ears perked up in - Darnell was certain a little delight.

“Darnell!”

“Ah, Mr. Fetzervalve. How good of you to join us. Would you be so kind as to take a seat next to Mr. Thunderstruck?”

“What?”

Principal Moneybags waved his hand at Buddy. “Anywhere is fine; we haven’t gotten started yet.”

“What the fuck is _going on_?”

Principal Moneybags sighed and waved a hand at the rattling jar. “I had hoped you’d be more reasonable than your reprobate friend.” Darnell suddenly felt the oppressive presence he’d once sensed in the room, but that presence now came with a sensation of pressure, so heavy it sent his body, and mind, crashing down-

When Darnell returned to awareness, he was seated, facing the wall. His hands were numb behind his back. And he had a searing headache. He could see the boiler to his left, and to the right, the door, shut, and an empty corner of the room.

“Darnell? Are you alright? I know _I_ was alright after Principal Moneybags did that, but that does not mean it was safe.”

“I’m fine. _What’s going on_ , Buddy?”

“I am not entirely certain, but this definitely _looks_ like a circle made for sacrifices. So if you have any ideas how to get out of here before Principal Moneybags sacrifices us to the Dark Powers, I would very much like to hear them. And given our current circumstances, we really should have followed up on the whole ‘Principal Moneybags is in a cult’ theory earlier.”

Darnell huffed out a laugh. “Yeah. You alright, Buddy?”

“Oh, yes, I am fine! Being tied up is not comfortable, though. And my impending sacrifice is a worry.”

“Come on, Buddy, you and me together? We can get through anything.”

“I did not know if you still thought of me that way,” Buddy murmured.

And though it sent a shock and chill through Darnell, he couldn’t blame Buddy for doubting him. He’d been cold and snappish all month, hadn’t told Buddy _anything_.

“Because you are my _best friend_ , Darnell. I love you, and do not want to lose you, so if you just tell me what I need to do-“

“Just be yourself,” Darnell sighed. “I’ve been...upset, and don’t want to talk about it, and I knew you would, and...I didn’t do this right.”

“No, I do not blame you in the slightest. It is your God-given right to be a little emotional over a breakup. They are very stressful.” Darnell’s chair shifted, and he realized he and Buddy were tied back to back. “You cannot see me, but I am trying to give you a hug.”

Darnell laughed, an explosive sound that startled him. He hadn’t laughed like that, sounded _happy_ , since he and Gregg had broken up.

A shame it only happened when they were about to die.

“Buddy? You’re my best friend, too. And…I love you.”

“Aw, man, a moment like this _requires_ a hug. This is wanton cruelty!”

“I can assure you it is nothing of the sort.” Principal Moneybags tugged open the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind him. “If your fellow captive had had their way, you would understand exactly what constitutes ‘cruelty’.” The jar behind Darnell rattled again.

“Yeah, so what is this?” Darnell demanded. “Tying us up in the school basement, creepy circles?”

Principal Moneybags sighed. “You are right; it is unreasonable to enact my sacrifice without explaining it to you why it is necessary. You know, I was once a very powerful man.”

Which was true; Buddy had explained his discovery that the student body president had once wielded enormous power, and Principal Moneybags had tried to use it to put himself on charge of the town forever. He would have succeeded, too, if someone hadn’t put a curse on the position, causing his best friend to betray him.

“You were _eleven_ ,” Buddy said. “And not a very good person.”

“Well, I _was_ eleven,” Principal Moneybags offered with a shrug. “I seethed for a time, when I was stripped of my power. But I soon realized it was right to keep children from wielding so much influence. Still, I knew this town would prosper the most under my leadership, so I began to seek a way back into power. I might not have found it, were it not for the Cult of the Black Goat.”

“I _knew_ you were a cultist!” Darnell cried.

At that, Principal Moneybags gave Darnell a venomous glare. “Their philosophy was ill-advised and unnecessarily cruel. No, indiscriminate murder is a poor way to manage a town. And even delinquents like Mr. Thunderstruck have their uses. No, I speak of the Black Goat itself. It possesses a supernatural persuasiveness that it bestows upon its followers. How, then, to gather its power for myself? For that, I must turn to my Granny Moneybags - my great-great-and so on grandmother, who you might know better as Captain Nobeard. She herself possessed what you might call a silver tongue, and by family legend did so by binding the spirit of a thoroughly unpleasant creature named Bluebeard. So I collapsed a mine shaft on the Cult of the Black Goat, bound their god, and sought to command its power. Which proved less effective than I desired, until your cousin, Mr. Thunderstruck, discovered Granny Moneybags’ secret treasure, and with it the secret of her power. Unsurprisingly, the key proved to be a sacrifice of virgin blood.”

“Oh, fart nuggets,” Buddy muttered, before speaking up. “Look, I understand if you believe you need a blood sacrifice to do your thing, but do you really need Darnell to watch you kill me?”

Darnell froze, chest tight. He’d had the vague thought of, ‘we’re going to die’ running through his head since he’d woken up, but the word ‘kill’ made it much more real. Imagining a life without Buddy, having seen Buddy _murdered_ , wasn’t worth thinking about.

But then-

“Why would he kill _you_?”

“It is a virgin sacrifice, Darnell. Ergo…”

“Wait, you - I - you think Gregg and I-“

“Well, yeah. You are two teenage boys, and you have confided in me you think he is _very attractive_. Plus, you _told_ me you thought you loved him.”

Darnell felt his ears and cheeks burn as the thought - that Buddy had thought he'd _had sex_ with Greggory Lee. “I - well, yeah, but I - we _didn’t_!” Of course he'd thought about it - especially once he'd realized how he felt for Gregg, but Darnell had hoped they could have established...they were going somewhere before that happened.

“Ahem.” Darnell turned to Principal Moneybags, who was scowling. “As much as I would want to continue to be privy to this open and honest discussion of teenage sexuality-" And _oh god_ , Principal Moneybags knew Darnell was a virgin; there was _no way_ this could get any worse.

"I must clarify several points," Principal Moneybags said evenly. "You are not the sacrifice, Mr. Thunderstruck. You are _bait_.”

“But how did you know-“

Principal Moneybags sighed, rubbing at his forehead. “In this context, ‘virgin blood’ refers not to sexual experience, but to blood which has never been spilled for ritual purposes.”

“That is ridiculous; everyone in Greasepit has tried to raise a spirit or two in their youth. It is like the Triangle Game.”

“Mr. Fetzervalve is not from Greasepit, Mr. Thunderstruck. He has never heard of the Triangle Game, and I am certain has never performed blood rituals. Or am I mistaken?”

Buddy gave a little whine. "No. You cannot do this." The chair jolted and they shifted an inch. "I will not let you kill Darnell. You will have to take me instead."

"Buddy, you _can't_!" Darnell struggled against his bonds, ready to tackle Buddy to keep him from nobly sacrificing his life for Darnell's.

"He cannot, in fact, do so. Ritual magic is not like baking - you can't substitute the blood of a virgin for 'virgin blood', the way you can applesauce for eggs. But you are laboring under the misapprehension that the blood I require necessitates the taking of a life."

Darnell felt a skip of his heartbeat, uncertain if he'd heard right. "You...don't need to kill us?"

"Not even a little," Principal Moneybags replied. "So you can stop giving me that rabid look, Mr. Thunderstruck." He stepped up to Darnell and gave him a tight smile, raising a short knife. "He won't even scar."

"I still feel we should be stopping you," Buddy said. "You do not need the supernatural ability to bullshit people."

"Really? Would it be so terrible to have me as a mayor?"

There was a moment of quiet. " _Mayor_?" Darnell demanded.

"What did you think I wanted the Black Goat's charisma for?" Principal Moneybags asked. "To be a high school administrator for the rest of my life? No, I have much higher aspirations."

"Well...I cannot claim to know much about your positions, but I am a little concerned about your willingness to use evil magic to achieve your policy aims. Plus, I am a little biased because of your stated disapproval of me, personally."

"There will be plenty of time for debates _after_ I announce my candidacy. And _that_ will not happen until I have Mr. Fetzervalve's blood. So I do apologize, but," Principal Moneybags grabbed Darnell's hand and tugged it close. He drew the knife close, and across Darnell's finger, a quick motion that took a few moments before it began to hurt, a sharp sting as blood welled up from the wound. Principal Moneybags caught the blood in a shallow bowl, just a few drops, and, with a sharp grin, wandered back out of Darnell's view.

"I think this would be an excellent time to rethink this," Buddy said. "I do not know if you know this, but making pacts with otherworldly entities is rarely productive."

“If you had been listening, Mr. Thunderstruck, you would recall I am not bargaining with the Black Goat. I am stealing a fragment of their power for myself. Behold!” There was a clink, as if a bowl were set down on the floor, and then Principal Moneybags spoke.

“By ancient compact, the spirit of one beyond this realm, and virgin blood, I take for myself the Black Goat’s tongue - silver, so every word passing it may be truth.”

“Do you think I could stop the ritual if I bleed on the circle?”

“Probably not,” Darnell replied. And in any case, it seemed to be too late, as something happened. The weighty presence of the Black Goat vanished, and Principal Moneybags began screaming.

“I told him bargaining with otherworldly creatures was a bad idea,” Buddy muttered.

“What’s going on?” The screaming was unnerving, moreso because Darnell couldn’t see what was happening.

“If I had to take a guess, I would say the ‘silver’ part of the phrase ‘silver tongue’ is very literal.” Buddy made a choked sound that might have been a retch. “That may be the grossest thing I have ever seen.”

“Is he _okay_? I don’t want to be stuck in here with a dead body!”

The screaming cut off, and Darnell was certain for a moment Principal Moneybags _had_ died.

“That was...unexpected.” There was a smacking sound and then, “More painful than I had expected. But nothing is gained without some sort of cost.”

“Um. Do you have horrifying mind control powers? Because you do not look like you have horrifying mind control powers.”

“Oh, Mr. Thunderstruck, how fanciful! I do not have mind control powers, merely the ability to make anyone believe anything I say. Nothing you need to worry about, especially now that your summer is about to begin!”

“And you _are_ late for dinner,” Darnell added. Principal Moneybags was right; worrying about his weird powers wasn’t worth worrying about (right now, a part of his mind added. They could worry later). They certainly couldn’t do anything about it while tied up, anyway.

“There, you see? And you have somewhere to be. So it would be unconscionable for me to keep you longer.” Principal Moneybags came to their side and untied Darnell and Buddy with a few deft movements before stepping back. “There, now go along. Have a good summer, and tell your parents to ‘vote Moneybags’!”

The drive to Buddy’s house was quiet for the first few minutes. Eventually, Darnell decided he’d been not talking long enough it was his turn to do so.

“I’m...not doing great,” he said. “I’m sad and confused and worried that my best isn’t good enough. That Gregg left, and that means you could, too. And I don’t want to talk about it because it might make it real, make you leave.”

“Oh, _Darnell_.” Buddy sounded heartbroken. “Pull over. _Now_.”

Darnell did, and the moment the car stopped, Buddy threw himself at Darnell, holding him in a tight sideways hug. “I am not going anywhere. _Nothing_ could make me leave. Not Principal Moneybags and his weird new powers, not the Devil, _nothing_.”

Darnell leaned into the embrace, enjoying the warmth, the closeness, and the reassurance Buddy had offered up so eagerly. It gave him hope.

“...Should we do something about Principal Moneybags?”

“Ugh, he is right. We cannot do anything about this right now, and we have earned a relaxing summer. You have not been to the swimming hole, or seen Sludge Puddle Creek swarming with fireflies, and there is a truck that sells snow cones that are fit for the gods, so they are nearly good enough for us-“

And maybe they were all right, Darnell thought as he continued the drive. He was tired, sad, and needed some time with his bro before trying to combat supernatural weirdness.

Let someone else worry about it for a few months.

He was going to have an awesome summer with his best friend instead.

**Author's Note:**

> KYFX OLVIWXF YWNVP CBR IWX BJ CBR AXLYH


End file.
